Conventionally, there is a step in the manufacture of semiconductor devices in which substrates such as semiconductor wafers (device substrate) and support substrates are bonded together with an adhesive that retains the device substrate for processing. After performing the processing on the device substrate, the support substrate is then separated from the device substrate. The support substrates are typically removed from the device substrate by peeling the support substrate from the device substrate after thinning the device substrate in a polishing process.
As there is the need to stably support the device substrate on the support substrate during polishing, an adhesive with a relatively strong bonding strength is used for bonding together the device substrate and the support substrate. However, the use of the high bonding strength adhesive creates a challenge in separation, such that increased time and labor are involved in peeling the device substrate from the support substrate.